Annoying Little Problem

As a retired engineer, I learned to deal with both metric and Imperial systems of measurement. I can easily deal with pints vs liters, pounds vs kilograms, short tons vs metric tons,  inches vs millimeters, etc. However, one unit still in use today dates back thousands of years. When Roman legions marched across Europe and Asia, they constructed roads wherever they went. Those roads were marked starting in Rome and radiating outward with distances marked in Roman miles. A mile  (or mille passuum) was identified as the distance the Roman army could match in 1000 paces or 5000 Roman feet. Emperor Agrippa established that standard in 29 BC. There was even a law that stated that a Roman soldier could command a bystander to carry his pack for one mile.  By our best estimates, that mile was around  4860 Imperial feet by today's accounting. British Parliament established the current 5280 ft mile based on the length of 8 furlongs, a term still used today in horse racing circles.  Thus, the current mile is about 9% greater than a Roman mile. What messes me up, however, is the nautical mile which is app/ 6076 ft.

Currently, the meter is defined as the distance light will travel in a vacuum in 1/299 792 458 of a second. However, that definition is of little use unless you know the definition of a second. That is defined as the time required for 9 192 631 770 vibrations of the Caesium 133 atom.  I do not know about you, but I find the concept of 1000 paces per mile to be much easier to wrap my head around. Atomic physicists might need the precision of SI units, but most of us can get by with the concept of 60 seconds per minute, 60 minutes per hour and 24 hours per day.

All fascinating! I’m not sure if you’re vintage but I recall that in elementary school we would be issued scribblers and they usually had tables with all the various measurements that we were required to know. Leagues, furlongs, chains, etc. some of them had multiplication tables. All basic information essential to life in the modern world. Memorization is a seriously underrated skill these days.

Two things! 1) the Phillips screw will not allow you to adjust the loft - please leave it as is. To adjust the loft you’ll need a washer or a quarter which is 25mm in diameter.

2) (this applies to my knots, hopefully helps your situation, but can’t be certain as it isn’t my knot) The “knot too big for my handle” problem is actually solvable. You just need to hammer around the base LIGHTLY (don’t go full force, no need to crack the base, we’re just loosening up the excess here) where the excess glue joins with the hair of the knot. Attaching a video here that should help. In the future though, it is always better to get the knot first, then get a handle that will work with it second in my opinion (similar to what Rudy said)

Video: https://streamable.com/wj4bs2

Ok, so what is the point of the screw? I’m familiar with the traditional way of adjusting the loft using washers. It sort of goes without saying which is why I assumed your reference to loft adjustability was something other than that like that now mysterious screw. Thanks for the hammer tip. I’ll give it a try. Please don’t take anything I’ve said as a critique of the handles, your service or you. That wasn’t my intent with this thread. No, I’m annoyed at the makers of the stoat knots I have, which I did but before I bought the handles. My mistake was assuming they were the diameter they were sold to me as and marked in the base as. I should have measured them myself. Although even if I had measured them it’s quite possible that based on my prior experience I would have assumed the bristles would squeeze in. The real lesson here for me is that I already have more than enough brushes!

All good my friend! I believe it’s Bernd from shavemac trying to smooth out the base. The drill he uses leaves a bit of a divot in the handle otherwise, so the screw helps level out the base so you don’t have to fill it with anything (unless you want to raise the loft, of course!

I am definitely vintage.

One thing that has refused to give way to metrics is the straight razor. Whether it is an 18th century Wade and Butcher or a modern blade from a custom designer, the width of the blade is still described in 1/8 s of an inch. That is the case whether you are talking about blades made in USA, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Japan or China. I have never seen a straight razor described as having a 19 mm wide blade.; it is always 6/8". 

With DE razors, I do not care whether then handle length is reported in mm or in inches or if the weight is in ounces and grams. I can concert easily enough.

I don't see why vendors don't just invest less than $10 in one of these vernier calipers and and settle things once and for all.



Even the cheap plastic ones are plenty accurate enough for the purposes of matching glue bases to handle holes. They'll even give the depth of the hole.

... Atomic physicists might need the precision of SI units, but most of us can get by with the concept of 60 seconds per minute, 60 minutes per hour and 24 hours per day.

And of course the thing about circular scales such as a clock face is that it is a simple matter to subdivide a circle into 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, or 24 equal divisions with just a compass and a straight edge.